CONTRA COSTA TIMES (California) 13 August 06 Don't have a hissy fit (Jessica Yadegaran)
They hiss and bite and kill, and have scared us since the Garden of Eden.
Now, the highly-anticipated movie "Snakes on a Plane" takes reptile terror to the next level. In the film, Samuel L. Jackson plays an FBI agent who fights a planeload of snakes unleashed by an assassin.
Despite the campy title, the premise alone sends shudders down our spines. But why are we so afraid of snakes?
A recent study from Sweden suggests that our fear has been shaped by evolution, stretching back to when early mammals had to survive and breed in an environment dominated by reptiles, some of which were deadly.
Others say it's triggered by a negative experience from the past. If you were bitten by a snake or know someone who was, chances are you will fear them. Perhaps you inherited your fear from your folks. Still, plenty of people recoil when they hear a snake story or see a picture of a snake.
"They slither and come out of nowhere," says Suzanne Dudeck, a Lafayette psychologist. "That in itself gives people pause and fear."
Even without a bite, they are the ultimate antagonist. Just think of the Bible, says Patricia Padgett, a Walnut Creek therapist.
"Snakes are a hidden evil. People equate that with fear and pain," she says.
Bum rap
The official phobia is ophidiophobia, and according to experts, it's more prevalent than other animal phobias, partially because snakes have been able to survive in almost all terrain from the jungles to farmlands and urban areas. Hence, more contact with people.
Despite the bad rap, snakes are not mean at all, says Susan Heckly, wildlife rehabilitation director and former reptile keeper for the Lindsay Wildlife Museum.
"They're primitive," Heckly says. "They're not aggressive. We're a lot bigger than they are and a lot scarier. So they defend themselves with something that can kill us -- venom."
There are dozens of snake species in the Bay Area, Heckly says, but the only venomous one is the rattlesnake, which dwells in suburban back yards and open spaces. Heckly teaches people to overcome their fears by showing them pictures of snakes; then snakes behind glass. Eventually, they hold the snakes.
"It's mostly adults who are afraid of snakes," Heckly says. "The kids are the ones running right up to the snakes."
Jules Sylvester teaches the same type of class, and often gives the snakes names such as Frank or Sally to humanize them to people. A snake handler of 39 years, Sylvester is Hollywood's reptile guy, having worked on 300 films, including "Jurassic Park."
Special handling
For "Snakes on a Plane," Sylvester provided 500 snakes, from cobras to king snakes. The movie was filmed in a tube made to resemble an aircraft. Sylvester fed snakes through its vents and followed cameras to make sure the snakes never attacked anyone, especially Jackson, whose agent forbade him from getting close. Sylvester wasn't surprised.
"The venomous ones rank up there with the most dangerous animals in the world, elephants and killer whales," he says.
That means they make good money.
"An 8-foot albino boa or python makes $300 to $400 a day," he says.
The most challenging task on the set of "Snakes" was hoisting Kitty, an 18-foot Burmese python, up to the aircraft's overhead skylight.
"It took six or seven of us to hold her up," he says.
But that's not Sylvester's best snake story; this is:
It was the early '70s, and Sylvester was catching snakes in Zimbabwe, miles from civilization. He spotted a bright green tree snake and spent a good while chasing it. Eventually, it fell out of sight.
"I decided to stand still and noticed he was right below me on the ground," Sylvester says.
The snake, with a lethal bite, slithered up Sylvester's pants and stopped at his kneecap.
"I wouldn't dare move," Sylvester says.
After half an hour, he took off his belt very slowly, and tore his pants with the buckle. Just like that, the snake slithered up his chest and used his ear as a ladder to go up a tree.
"I've worn shorts ever since," Sylvester says. "If he bit me, I would've bled to death internally."
Despite that experience, he speaks highly of his slinky friends.
"They're very gracious creatures," he says. "Very honest. They don't pretend."
Snakes you might know
Hey, snakes aren't so bad. Look how many have appeared in pop culture:
• Indiana Jones had an overdeveloped fear of snakes.
• Cleopatra lost her asp on a snake.
• The Garden of Eden lost because of a snake.
• Harry Potter speaks snake.
• In "The Road Warrior," the gyro pilot has a guard snake.
• Jon Voight goes after the world's deadliest snake in "Anaconda."
• In director Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," a wise Indian tells of a snake that talks back.
• Johnny Cash -- along with Peter, Paul & Mary -- sang about being swallowed by a boa constrictor ("Oh gee, he's up to my knee" in the aptly titled "Boa Constrictor."
• Michael Stipe of R.E.M. sings about snakes and planes: "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an airplane."
• Iconic 1980s image, the snake is sexy: Nastassja Kinski, nude, draped with a snake, in a Richard Avedon photo. Featured on many college dorm room walls.
• "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" (2004), Michael Madsen's character is felled by a black mamba, delivered to his trailer by Daryl Hannah's character.
• Direct-to-video flick "Python" with Robert Englund and Jenny McCarthy came out in 2000; "Python 2" served up seconds in 2002.
• "Alexander" (2005): Playing Alexander the Great's mother, Angelina Jolie beds down with snakes.
• "Sssssss" (1973): Serum can turn humans into snakes!
• "Copperhead" (1984): A family is attacked by copperhead snakes after they get hold of a stolen Incan necklace.
Don't have a hissy fit